Its a shame some kind of ND/Navy joint BE football membership hasn't come about yet where the schools would play 4 BE games a year plus each other....that would add a lot of luster to the league
Jackson
Irish look ahead by looking into past
By Malcolm Moran, USA TODAY
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Notre Dame officials are planning to reinforce a long-term commitment to the school's independent football status with a dramatic strategic link to the Rockne era.
Anticipating an NCAA decision in April that would make a 12th regular-season game permanent, Notre Dame intends to schedule a game each season in different parts of the country at sites the Irish hope will be anything but neutral.
The plan, the result of a two-year study, is expected to take effect in 2009. The Fighting Irish will increase the number of games at Notre Dame Stadium from the current six to seven, and four games will take place on the road.
For a 12th game each year, athletics director Kevin White said, the school is considering cities such as Chicago, Orlando, Jacksonville, New Orleans and Dallas. The Irish would negotiate terms that would include games, perhaps in prime time, in its agreement with NBC.
"It will be like a mini bowl game," White told USA TODAY. "We're going to take our football program around the country in ways that we haven't done."
The idea has roots in the 1920s, when coach Knute Rockne took his team, known as the Ramblers, from coast to coast.
John Heisler, a senior associate athletics director whose responsibilities include scheduling, said the school has not contacted potential opponents or representatives of sites. White said the initiative has been viewed favorably within the school administration because of its boost to recruiting and the way it could provide alumni and fans greater access to tickets.
White said an agreement to play at least three Big East teams a season would let the Irish play annually at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. They have played there 11 times, including a 27-9 win against Navy in 2004.
A 10-year extension of an agreement with fellow independent Navy, an annual Irish opponent since 1927, will include a game in Dublin, Ireland, where the programs met in 1996.
After considering a football involvement with several conferences the last six years, White said Notre Dame would celebrate its football independence rather than feeling resigned to it.
"If you think of yourself as an independent and you allow yourself to become regionalized," White said, "that doesn't make sense. We need to be a little entrepreneurial."
Well I guess that makes it official then. Cool.
May I ask why they have to play 3 Big East schools in exchange for a game at the Meadowlands? I don't quite understand how the two are tied together.
nflsucks Wrote:Well I guess that makes it official then. Cool.
May I ask why they have to play 3 Big East schools in exchange for a game at the Meadowlands? I don't quite understand how the two are tied together.
Sounds to me like one of the three Big East games will be at the Meadowlands, with one being played at Notre Dame Stadium and the other one being played at the home of the Big East opponent.
nflsucks Wrote:Well I guess that makes it official then. Cool.
May I ask why they have to play 3 Big East schools in exchange for a game at the Meadowlands? I don't quite understand how the two are tied together.
I think it means Notre Dame will play three BE teams a year but when they play away games--some of them will be in NJ. i.e. Cuse vs ND in NJ
Does this committment give ND more control of a potential BE split without having to become a member?
Brick City...the article said that ND wanted to preserve their independent schedule. This is part of scheduling in various parts of the country. It should not effect a split that won't happen in the first place.
The Irish now have an agreement to play 3 BE teams every year, already have rights to the Gator Bowl, & is a basketball BE member. It seems to me that ND agreeing to play a minimum of 3 BE teams every year, gives the Irish even more clout with the D1a football playing schools.
Quote:Does this committment give ND more control of a potential BE split without having to become a member?
-- No...I don't think so....perhaps the only school that is happy with the 16 team arrangment is ND...they get a home for there non football sports...most of there "conference games" are in the northeast were most of there alumuni is, there are many Catholic schools in the league, they get access to bowl tie ins without being in a football league etc....so if you look at it that way...it makes sense that ND is going to lend all the support it can to the football side without having to join the football league officially
-- However...this arrangment is not going to solve many of the BE football schools' issues....this isn't going to make the TV contract higher, its not going to solve the scheduling problem....also nothing was mentioned about a rotation for these BE/ND games...I think we can safely say that USF and ND are not going to be meeting on the football field anytime soon....my guess is that a majority of these games are going to be betweeen the Irish and Pitt, syracuse, Uconn and Rutgers because again those schools are located in areas heavy with ND alums...the Pitt/ND series is already a home and home....and the Irish can play the other three in NJ if they choose too....My take on it is WVU, Louisville, UC, USF aren't going to get anything out of this deal at all
Jackson
Jackson. Do you think that there might be some football schools that would also like to avoid a split? If I remember correctly, the Syracuse basketball coach didn't particularly want to join the ACC. As you said, Notre Dame benefits the most in a 16 school BE. If ND decides to try and prevent a split from occuring, things could get real nasty.
A future UC - ND matchup at Paul Brown stadium would be a guaranteed sellout of 65000 plus not unlike UC-OSU in 2002. There are a lot of ND alumni in Cincinnati, not to mention a huge Catholic population.
Quote:There are a lot of ND alumni in Cincinnati, not to mention a huge Catholic population.
-- That's true...I forgot about the demographics of southern Ohio...so I guess UC is a possibility
Quote:As you said, Notre Dame benefits the most in a 16 school BE. If ND decides to try and prevent a split from occuring, things could get real nasty.
-- I'm not sure what ND can do...the Irish are not apart of the BE football TV contract so they can't hold that over us....the only real loss would be the Gator bowl...but again that could be easily replaced with the Memphis/Liberty bowl combo
--- Don't get me wrong...ND could save the league if it wants to....all it would have to do is become a full time football member and in exhange make the football schools promise not to break off....but I don't think ND has any desire to do so....Tranghese pleaded for ND to join the football league as a way to fight off the ACC raid and tried again when Miami and VT left but Boston College was still around...both times ND declined.....if they didn't throw there weight around to save a league that had Hurricanes, Hokies and traditional rivals BC and Pitt....I doubt they will do so now
-- To me it seems fairly obvious that ND is setting themeselves up to have a great non football league with old rivals Marquette and Depaul and the rest of the eastern/urban bball onlys
-- This three game deal maybe apart of some kind of pact that ND had with the football schools in order to get enough votes for Depual and Marquette....football schools vote for NDs friends and in exchange the Irish will play 3 BE football games a year for 5 yrs....that sounds plausable enough doesn't it?
Jackson
This is ND taking advantage of the Big East football playing school. I will be glad when the split happens! Screw ND!
ND vs. Louisville is in the works.
Quote:A future UC - ND matchup at Paul Brown stadium would be a guaranteed sellout of 65000 plus not unlike UC-OSU in 2002. There are a lot of ND alumni in Cincinnati, not to mention a huge Catholic population.
Agreed. I thought I heard the Bearcats have an upcoming home-and-home with the Nits.
Will you be scheduling PSU there as well? Are there enough Penn State alum in the area to make it a PBS-worthy game?
Cheers,
Neil
omnicarrier Wrote:Quote:A future UC - ND matchup at Paul Brown stadium would be a guaranteed sellout of 65000 plus not unlike UC-OSU in 2002. There are a lot of ND alumni in Cincinnati, not to mention a huge Catholic population.
Agreed. I thought I heard the Bearcats have an upcoming home-and-home with the Nits.
Will you be scheduling PSU there as well? Are there enough Penn State alum in the area to make it a PBS-worthy game?
Cheers,
Neil
I have trouble finding any information on future UC football schedules.
We start off at Penn State this year, so I would not be too surpised to see them come here in the next few years. We have played them several times over the years, both home and away. I don't know if PSU would draw as many at this time due to their success (or lacl thereof) the last few years. They are still a big name team, but have struggled recently.
I thought at one time UC was going to play at ND, but I have not heard anything of it for some time.
TopCoog Wrote:Brick City...the article said that ND wanted to preserve their independent schedule. This is part of scheduling in various parts of the country. It should not effect a split that won't happen in the first place.
Actually you're wrong. Scheduling Big East schools would be Notre Dame's way of trying to keep the conference together I believe. But it doesn't matter, it's the football schools that want the split, that's why the Big East will split away from each other (football and basketball schools).
Jackson1011 Wrote:-- I'm not sure what ND can do...the Irish are not apart of the BE football TV contract so they can't hold that over us....the only real loss would be the Gator bowl...but again that could be easily replaced with the Memphis/Liberty bowl combo
And if the Gator Bowl is talking about leaving anyway, well there goes another Notre Dame bargaining chip out the window.
I wish I could say that this is the first step towards a larger ND/BE football relationship....but in reality it seems to me that this is a step in the opposite direction...basically ND coming out and saying they want 7 home games and what road games they have they want to be in Large urban areas (Dallas, New Orleans, Chicago)....to me this doesn't at all sound like a school that is even making baby steps towards joining a league..
--- I think those quotes speaks volumes about NDs lack of interest in a football conference....
Quote:"If you think of yourself as an independent and you allow yourself to become regionalized," White said, "that doesn't make sense. We need to be a little entrepreneurial."
--Anyone else find it interesting that Boston College wasn't mentioned in the article as a future ND opponet? It seems BC offended every traditional football rival they had in a single summer....amazing
Jackson
Jackson1011 Wrote:I wish I could say that this is the first step towards a larger ND/BE football relationship....but in reality it seems to me that this is a step in the opposite direction...basically ND coming out and saying they want 7 home games and what road games they have they want to be in Large urban areas (Dallas, New Orleans, Chicago)....to me this doesn't at all sound like a school that is even making baby steps towards joining a league..
That's how I read it as well.
The first statement in the article - "Notre Dame officials are planning to reinforce a long-term commitment to the school's independent football status with a dramatic strategic link to the Rockne era." - makes it pretty clear they aren't really looking to join a conference.
If ND does not start improving soon, this may backfire on them.
Cat's Claw...read the article, that is not what it said.